Down to their final set of at-bats, trailing by three runs, CSUN was just a few inches away from completing their come-from-behind effort.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the tying run on second base, Brad Decater ripped a liner to left field that looked like it would drop and even the score at 13. However, Sacramento State left-fielder Jake Chilton made a diving catch to end the Northridge comeback.

The Matador bats were hot early, with CSUN holding a 7-0 advantage after just three innings of play.

Sparked by one-out singles from Muren and Pineda, Northridge put up five runs in a first inning that saw all nine Matadors take a swing at Hornet starter Logan Todd.

After a scoreless second inning, D'Anna started CSUN's third inning with a single to right field. Decater then put the first baseman in scoring position after being hit by a pitch, and was then put into scoring position himself, when Belanger laid down a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. DeMarco then drove home D'Anna for the first run of the inning, before Ring's sacrifice fly brought home Decater, to make the score 7-0 in CSUN's favor.

However, the Hornets would score 13 runs over the next five innings to take the lead; an advantage that nearly disappeared in the final two sets of Northridge at-bats.

After Muren drew a walk to lead off the eighth inning, D'Anna lined a double to center field to score the first run of the inning. Two batters later, Belanger pulled a pitch down the left field line to score D'Anna from second, to bring the Matadors within three, 13-10.

Ring led things off in the ninth with a double to left field, eventually advancing to third on a bunt single by Muren.

After Ring scored on a Pineda single, D'Anna followed with an RBI single of his own; his shot through the infield brought CSUN with one run of tying the game.

Were it not for Chilton's diving catch, Decater would have driven in the tying run for the Matadors, if not game-winner as well. Instead, the catch was made for the third out of the inning, giving Sacramento State the win in the series-opener.